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Issue 9 2019 - FBJNA


also a focus at the port. The


challenge is to get enough cargo together for one single destination. “We have 22 freight trains


a week, or 4-5 a day going to Venlo,” van Hengel said. “We also have dedicated rail lines into Germany.” Two major logistics points


-- Venlo and Tiburg, are connected by rail. Truck congestion is being


addressed by the construction of a dedicated road between the port’s five terminals. Plus work is underway to organize steamship line calls by optimizing cargo flows and increasing visibility through digitalization platforms. The port has already earned the reputation as the most digitized seaport in the world. Three years ago, Rotterdam


introduced its Navigate system, a door-to-door route planner. A year later it launched the system for rail, barge, shortsea, deep- sea schedules. The system is so successful that the port is selling port its solution to ports worldwide. Rotterdam’s platform


Pronto is decreasing vessel time in the port. “While bunkering was once an issue, we have now seen this go to zero,” van Hengel said. Further, in October, the


port launched its Boxinsider, which helps shippers and forwarders schedule, monitor, and manage container logistics more effectively by indicating data point moves. “Officials know exactly


where each and every container is,” he said. “We gather different data stamps on a container and know its estimated time of arrival and estimated time of departure. We do the same with inland moves.”


Amsterdam Schiphol Airport


With cargo volumes around 1.7 million tons per year, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) is ranked No. 3 in Europe for air cargo, behind No. 1 Frankfurt (FRA), and No. 2 Paris (CDG). Its ranks No. 4 for international passenger traffic. Hampering air cargo growth been a government-


has imposed restriction that has


Elements making up SmartGate Cargo include the National Tactical Center; Smart


Gate


///NETHERLANDS “Schiphol lost 10% of freight


ICT Solutions;


ULD scans; Mobile teams/ scans; Remote Scans; Nuclear Detection; and the Joint Inspection Center. Demonstrations were provided, including a narcotic-sniffing dog, 3D CTC scan, and hand-held max scanner. During the tour, FBJNA also


witnessed the movement of Schiphol’s top commodity: flowers. Early each morning


Rotterdam, home to Europe’s No. 1 seaport. (Rotterdam Partners Photo.)


limited aircraft movements to a maximum 500,000 per year. In place 2008 through 2019, in 2020 that figure will be re-negotiated for a strategy from 2020 through 2050. If officials decide the airport has met new environmental and noise standards, an additional 40,000 aircraft movements a year will be awarded for a total of 540,000. Bart Pouwels, AMS head of


cargo, questioned, however, whether those batches would go to freighters. “We have lost severely on slots because punctuality of freighters is unreliable,” he said. “The rules are not cargo friendly. Schiphol lost 10% of freight movements over the last two years because no slots were available. We’ve had to say no to airlines that want to grow here.” Initiatives are in place to


optimize air cargo processes. The Smart Cargo Mainport Program (SCMP) improves on ground cargo handling. “SCMP is a full community


effort to work together and optimize what we have through smart landside logistics, data sharing, and innovations,” Pouwels said. Mike


de Wolff, Tax and Liaison


Officer International Affairs,


Customs


Administration of the Netherlands, outlined Schiphol SmartGate Cargo, the first public/private initiatives in the airfreight sector that integrates supervision and inspections process for air cargo. “The goal is to create a smart, swift, safe, secure and sustainable air cargo process for goods leaving the EU via a coordinated inspection process,” he said.


thousands of cut flowers and live plants arrive Schiphol from growers worldwide to be auctioned. Royal FloraHolland organizes the auction from its huge 5,575,705 square-foot facility adjacent to the airport. With floor space of 10,656,271 square feet, the facility also has the largest footprint of any building in the world. “From here, 40,000


different varieties are sold per year,” reported Eline van den Berg, spokesperson. “No other place in the world can buy such a variety.” Shipments arrive from


5,550 suppliers seven days a week from as far away as Kenya, Ethiopia,


Colombia. “Thirty-eight full freighters


arrive each Wednesday, mostly to Schiphol, but also Frankfurt, Brussels, and Maastricht


from where they are trucked to Royal Israel, and


movements over the last two years because no slots were available.” -- Bart Pouwels, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.


FloralHolland’s facility,” she said. The shipments are placed


in cold storage, and the auction starts at 6 a.m. “As soon as the product


is sold, it comes out of cold storage,” explained Berg. Some 115,000 commercial


transactions occur daily and are


shipped


in 140 countries worldwide, including Singapore, Japan and Russia.


While the bulk


remains in the Netherlands; Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Belgium are big customers. Auctions take place five


days a week. While the business


is still untouched


by ecommerce, trading has shifted largely to online transactions.


Innovative Operators


During the tour, the NFIA and the Holland International Distribution Council showcased third party logistics


operators. One,


Neele-Vat Logistics, operates as one of the larger 3PLs in the Rotterdam region. The company also has locations throughout the Netherlands, Finland,


Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Russia,


Early each morning thousands of cut flowers and live plants arrive Schiphol worldwide to be auctioned by Royal FloraHolland. (Photo by Karen E. Thuermer.)


Romania, and Poland. “We just opened a new


warehouse with a Turkish operator,” said Cuno Vat, Neele-Vat CEO. Its Rotterdam-


Albrandswaard office has certificates for the food,


animal pharmaceutical feed and industry


and temperature-controlled solutions. The company focuses


on ocean, air, LCL, and FCL freight and offers a rail option via China’s One Belt One Road


Initiative, the result


of an agreement by GVT Group of Logistics, the Port of Rotterdam and the Chengdu International Railway Port Investment Development Co to develop the Rotterdam- Tilburg-Chengdu Express. “It will not be a game


changer,” Vat stated. “But it’s helpful to certain products as an alternative to air. Some 20 to 25 containers depart weekly.” Imports are largely


consumer goods; exports contain wine and food as well as machinery from Germany. German logistics company


Rhenus showcased its DC in Tilburg


that in is considered


the world’s most sustainable warehouse


Europe and


the second most sustainable building in the world. (See sidebar to DCs are Fast on the Move elsewhere in this issue.) The facility concentrates


on high tech and medical tech


items. Alphons van


Erven, senior vice president at Rhenus, e xp lain ed


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